Need Advice On Daily Calories, TDEE etc...

Kristopher25

I'm looking for advice on what to set my calorie goal to on myfitnesspal. I started about 3 months ago and currently have it set to lose 2 pounds a week. My current weight is 217 and my weight at the beginnig of the month was about 219, so only 2 pounds lost in almost 4 weeks. Myfitness pal currently has me at 1790 calories a day. On top of this I burn about 400 calories on cardio 5-6 times a week. I try to eat most of these calories back as well. I do weight training for about 30 minutes 3-4 times a week and have some days of manual labor/carpentry work etc... that could be 6-8 hours after work a few times a week. I don't add any of these calories to mfp.

My concern is that the 1790 that mfp gives may be too low. A fitnessFrog app that someone posted has my TDEE at 3,150(moderate excersise) to 3,550(heavy exercise). Another calculator posted by helloitsdan has my TDEE at around 2,800.

Any suggestions on how to proceed? I would like to still lose at least two pounds per week until I get below 200. After that I'm o.k. with a slower weight loss and should be able to concentrate more on muscle building etc... I'm fine with eating the 1,790 that mfp suggests. I'm also fine with eating 2,400-2,800 that fitnessfrog suggests (TDEE - 20%). What I don't want to do is eat too much and get into bad habits that could derail all of the progress I made so far.

Any thoughts on how to proceed to get over this stall? Is 1,790 o.k.? Not enough? I get that weight loss isn't linear but 2 pounds in a month when I have 50 to go doesn't seem right.

yarwell

if you lost 2 pounds in 4 weeks your effective deficit was 250 calories a day. Take 250 off and see if you lose 1 lb per week.

If not, look at what you're eating and maybe "eat back" (gag) half of your exercise calories in case they are over-estimated.

cmriverside

lol @ yarwell...he hates to recommend eating exercise cals. :laugh:


OP, are you measuring and weighing and logging all your food and drinks? It's really easy to make errors of several hundred calories without doing so.

yarwell

lol @ yarwell...he hates to recommend eating exercise cals. :laugh:

I just hate the phrase. Not to mention the philosophy. Or the overestimation that includes BMR etc.

OK, I agree, I hate it. Eating more is a waste of time. LOL

psuLemon

If your TDEE is close, start around 2500 calories. Also, drop some of the cardio. A lot of cardio will just require you to eat more. But I would limit it to 1-2 days and then 3-4 days of weight training. After a month, evaluate how much you lost.


I eat 2500, I am 5'11, 188 and exercise 1 hour a day 6 days a week and I am 30 yr old with a desk job. So yes, 1780 is too much.

Bekahmardis

if you lost 2 pounds in 4 weeks your effective deficit was 250 calories a day. Take 250 off and see if you lose 1 lb per week.

If not, look at what you're eating and maybe "eat back" (gag) half of your exercise calories in case they are over-estimated.

I agree. If you're using MFP + whatever exercise calories you burn and only had a deficit of 250, then there's one of two things happening: 1) you are overestimating the calories burned (MFP's site is notorious for that), or 2) you aren't logging/calculating your calorie input (i.e. food intake) properly. I guess I'd recommend doing the TDEE - 20% and NOT eating anything more than that and see what happens. But also, give it a bit of time. It may take your body more than a few weeks to adjust to the new food intake level as well.

MzManiak

If you are ok with the 1,790 (meaning, you have good energy, don't feel hungry all the time, etc) then I think it's the right number. I don't think you should be eating back all your exercise calories while trying to lose weight just for the sake of eating, unless you are burning more than 590. Then maybe eat back whatever calories are over that, and of course, if it is because you are hungry, then yes, please have a snack.

The only other advice would be to log everything, including food, exercise, and how you feel each day. (Are you tired? Hungry? Feel bloated? etc...) And then play around with your caloric intake and exercise. Do you feel better if you eat more or less? Do you feel better if you do cardio everyday or 3 times per week... etc. It's really trial and error. TDEE and MFP can only give you guidelines. You also have to listen to your own body and do what feels right for you. Good luck!

CM9178

Use one of the calculators you've already mentioned - make sure to ACCURATELY enter your exercise information/frequency and level, and then use the number it gives you. Also, make sure to accurately track every calorie you put into your mouth.
Chances are, the 1790 isn't enough, you are burning off too many additional calories and your body is holding on to whatever is left.